Wizards in Middle-earth

Group of Wizards (Istari) in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium

Wizards like Gandalf were immortal Maiar, but took the form of Men.

The Wizards or Istari in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction were powerful angelic beings, Maiar, who took the physical form and some of the limitations of Men to intervene in the affairs of Middle-earth in the Third Age, after catastrophically violent direct interventions by the Valar, and indeed by the one god Eru Ilúvatar, in the earlier ages.

Two Wizards, Gandalf the Grey and Saruman the White, largely represent the order, though a third Wizard, Radagast the Brown, appears briefly. Two Blue Wizards are mentioned in passing. Saruman is installed as the head of the White Council, but falls to the temptation of power. He imitates and is to an extent the double of the Dark Lord Sauron, only to become his unwitting servant. Gandalf ceaselessly assists the Company of the Ring in their quest to destroy the Ring and defeat Sauron. He forms the double of Saruman, as Saruman falls and is destroyed, while Gandalf rises and takes Saruman's place as the White Wizard. Gandalf resembles the Norse god Odin in his guise as Wanderer. He has been described as a figure of Christ.[1]

All three named Wizards appear in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. Commentators have stated that they operate more physically and less spiritually than the Wizards in Tolkien's novels, but that this is mostly successful in furthering the drama.

## Maiar

[edit]

Further information: Maiar in Middle-earth

The Wizards of Middle-earth are Maiar: spirits similar to the godlike Valar, but lesser in power. Outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical and mental power, they are called Istari (Quenya for "Wise Ones") by the Elves. They were sent by the Valar to assist the free peoples of Middle-earth in the Third Age to counter the Dark Lord Sauron, a fallen Maia of great power.[T 1][2] During the First Age, they and Melian (another Maia) had also been sent by the Valar to guard the Elves at Cuiviénen.[T 2]

### Names

[edit]

The first three of these five Wizards were named in The Lord of the Rings as Saruman "man of skill" (supposedly translated from Rohirric, in reality Old English), Gandalf "elf of the staff" (supposedly in the tongue of northern Men, in reality Old Norse), and Radagast "tender of beasts" (possibly Westron). Tolkien never provided non-Elvish names for the other two; their names in Valinor are stated as Alatar and Pallando,[T 1] and in Middle-earth as Morinehtar and Rómestámo.[T 3] Each Wizard in the series had robes of a characteristic colour: white for Saruman (the chief and the most powerful of the five), grey for Gandalf, brown for Radagast,[3] and sea-blue for the other two, who are known as the Blue Wizards (Ithryn Luin in Sindarin).[4] Gandalf and Saruman play important roles in The Lord of the Rings, while Radagast appears only briefly, more or less as a single plot device. He innocently helps Saruman to deceive Gandalf, who believes Radagast since he is honest, but fortuitously alerts the eagle Gwaihir to rescue Gandalf. The two Blue Wizards do not feature in the narrative of Tolkien's works; they are said to have journeyed far into the east after their arrival in Middle-earth,[T 1][2] and serve as agitators or missionaries in enemy occupied lands.[4] Their ultimate fates are unknown.[5]

### Servants of the Valar

[edit]

As the Istari were Maiar, each one served a Vala in some way. Saruman was the servant and helper of Aulë, and so learned much in the art of craftsmanship, mechanics, and metal-working, as was seen in the later Third Age. Gandalf was the servant of Manwë or Varda, but was a lover of the Gardens of Lórien, and so knew much of the hopes and dreams of Men and Elves. Radagast, servant of Yavanna, loved the things of nature, both animals and plants. As each of these Istar learned from their Vala, so they acted in Middle-earth.[T 1]

### Gandalf

[edit]

Main article: Gandalf

Gandalf the Grey is a protagonist in The Hobbit, where he assists Bilbo Baggins on his quest, and in The Lord of the Rings, where he is the leader of the Company of the Ring. Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" from the Old Norse "Catalogue of Dwarves" (Dvergatal) in the Völuspá; its meaning in that language is "staff-elf".[6][T 1] Originally called Olórin, he was the wisest of the Maiar and lived in Lórien until the Third Age, when Manwë tasked him to join the Istari and go to Middle-earth to protect its free peoples. He did not want to go as he feared Sauron, but Manwë persuaded him, telling him that his fear of Sauron was why he was a good fit for it.[T 1]

As a Wizard and the bearer of a Ring of Power, Gandalf has great power, but works mostly by encouraging and persuading. He sets out as Gandalf the Grey, possessing great knowledge, and travelling continually, always focused on his mission to counter Sauron. He is associated with fire, his ring being Narya, the Ring of Fire, and he both delights in fireworks to entertain the hobbits of the Shire, and in great need uses fire as a weapon. As one of the Maiar he is an immortal spirit, but being in a physical body on Middle-earth, he can be killed in battle, as he is by the Balrog from Moria. He is sent back to Middle-earth to complete his mission, now as Gandalf the White and leader of the Istari.[T 1]

Tolkien once described Gandalf as an angel incarnate; later, both he and other scholars likened Gandalf to the Norse god Odin in his "Wanderer" guise.[T 4][7] Others have described Gandalf as a guide-figure who assists the protagonists, comparable to the Cumaean Sibyl who assisted Aeneas in Virgil's The Aeneid, or to Virgil himself in Dante's Inferno;[8][9] and as a Christ-figure, a prophet.[10][11][12][13][1]

### Saruman

[edit]

Main article: Saruman

Saruman the White is leader of the Istari and of the White Council, in The Hobbit and at the outset in The Lord of the Rings. However, he desires Sauron's power for himself and plots to take over Middle-earth by force, remodelling Isengard along the lines of Sauron's Dark Tower, Barad-Dur.[T 1][2]

Saruman's character illustrates the corruption of power; his desire for knowledge and order leads to his fall, and he rejects the chance of redemption when it is offered.[T 1][2] The name Saruman means "man of skill or cunning" in the Mercian dialect of Anglo-Saxon;[14] he serves as an example of technology and modernity being overthrown by forces more in tune with nature.[T 1][2]

### Radagast

[edit]

Main article: Radagast

Radagast the Brown is mentioned in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings. His role is so slight that it has been described as a plot device.[T 1][2][15] He played a more significant part in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film series. Some aspects of his characterisation were invented for the films, but the core elements of his character, namely communing with animals, skill with herbs, and shamanistic ability to change his shape and colours, are as described by Tolkien.[16] Unusually among Middle-earth names, Radagast is Slavic, the name of a god.[17]

## Analysis

[edit]

Tolkien stated that the main temptation facing the Wizards, and the one that brought down Saruman, was impatience. It led to a desire to force others to do good, and from there to a simple desire for power.[T 5]

The Tolkien scholar Marjorie Burns writes that while Saruman is an "imitative and lesser" double of Sauron, reinforcing the Dark Lord's character type, he is also a contrasting double of Gandalf, who becomes Saruman as he "should have been", after Saruman fails in his original purpose.[18]

Charles Nelson writes that although evil is personified in Sauron and his creatures such as Balrogs, along with Shelob and other "nameless things" deep below the mountains, evil threatens the characters from within, and the moral failures of those such as Saruman, Boromir, and Denethor endanger the world.[19] Nelson notes that in a letter, Tolkien stated that "Myth and fairy-story must, as all art, reflect and contain in solution elements of moral and religious truth (or error), but not explicit, not in the known form of the primary 'real' world."[T 6] Each race exemplifies one of the Seven Deadly Sins, for instance Dwarves embody greed, Men pride, Elves envy. In this scheme, the Wizards represent the angels sent by God, or as Tolkien wrote "Emissaries (in the terms of this tale from the Far West beyond the Sea)".[19][T 7] Pride is the greatest of the Sins, and affects the Wizards who take the shape of Men. Saruman, like Lucifer, is overwhelmed by pride and vainglory, just as Denethor is.[19] Nelson states that Saruman's argument for the need for power "definitely echoes" Hitler's rationalisations for the Second World War, despite Tolkien's claims to the contrary.[19][T 8]

The scholar of humanities Patrick Curry rebuts the "common criticism" of Tolkien, levelled by literary critics such as the scholar of English literature Catherine Stimpson, that his characters are naively either good or evil. Curry writes that far from being "seemingly incorruptible" as Stimpson alleges, evil emerges among the Wizards.[20]

William Senior contrasts Tolkien's Wizards as angelic emissaries with those in Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (published 1977–2013), who are simply human. In Senior's view, where Tolkien used myth and a medieval hierarchy of orders of being, with Wizards higher than Elves who are higher than Men, Donaldson's Lords are "wholly human" and "function democratically".[21]

## Adaptations

[edit]

Christopher Lee played Saruman in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit[22] as "a powerfully haunted and vindictive figure".[23]

Three Wizards appear in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies: Saruman, portrayed by Christopher Lee;[22] Gandalf, portrayed by Ian McKellen;[24] and Radagast, portrayed by Sylvester McCoy.[16]

The critic Brian D. Walter writes that the films seek to make Gandalf a powerful character without having him take over the Fellowship's strategy and action. As in the novels, Gandalf is "an oddly ambivalent presence, extraordinarily powerful and authoritative ..., but also a stranger, the only one of the Istari who never settles down".[24] On screen, Gandalf is necessarily "less remote, less liminal, more bodily present", less like an angelic spirit than in Tolkien, but in Walter's view this benefits the films' dramatic tension and helps to bring out many other characters. Still, he appears more as a magical than a heroic figure, for example when the Fellowship is attacked by wargs in Hollin, where he uses words and a firebrand rather than drawing his sword Glamdring.[24] Brian Rosebury calls the film Saruman "incipiently Shakespearean ... [with] the potential to rise to a kind of tragic dignity"; he considers that Lee attains a suitable presence as "a powerfully haunted and vindictive figure, if less self-deluding than Tolkien's", even if the film version of the verbal confrontation with Gandalf fails to rise to the same level.[23]

Kristin Thompson notes that the Wizards' staffs are more elaborate in the films; their tips are "more convoluted" and can hold a crystal, which can be used to produce light.[25] Rosebury considers the staff-battle between Gandalf and Saruman in Orthanc "absurd", breaking the spell of the film in The Fellowship of the Ring, and coming "uncomfortably close" to the light-sabre fights in Star Wars.[23]

In Amazon's series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Daniel Weyman portrays "the Stranger", a Wizard who falls from the sky in a meteorite.[26] In the show's second season, Ciarán Hinds portrays "the Dark Wizard" in the land of Rhûn.[27] On the show's second season finale, the Stranger is confirmed as a younger version of Gandalf,[28] while the series creators J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay have indicated that the Dark Wizard is one of the other five, but extremely unlikely to be Saruman.[29]

## References

[edit]

### Primary

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Tolkien 1980, "The Istari"
2. ^ Tolkien 2021, "Key Dates"
3. ^ Tolkien 1996, pp. 384–385
4. ^ Carpenter 2023, #107 to Sir Stanley Unwin, 7 December 1946
5. ^ Carpenter 2023, #181 to Michael Straight, January or February 1956
6. ^ Carpenter 2023, #131 to Milton Waldman, late 1951
7. ^ Carpenter 2023, #144 to Naomi Mitchison, 25 April 1954
8. ^ Tolkien 1954a, Foreword to the Second Edition

### Secondary

[edit]

1. ^ a b Kreeft, Peter J. (November 2005). "The Presence of Christ in The Lord of the Rings". Ignatius Insight. Archived from the original on 2005-11-24. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
2. ^ a b c d e f Stanton, Michael N. (2013) [2007]. "Wizards". In Drout, Michael D. C. (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Routledge. pp. 709–710\. ISBN 978-0-415-86511-1.
3. ^ His name is taken from the Slavic god Radegast. Orr, Robert (1994). "Some Slavic Echos in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth". Germano-Slavica. 8 (2): 23–34.
4. ^ a b Duriez, Colin (1992). The J.R.R. Tolkien Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to His Life, Writings, and World of Middle-earth. Baker Book House. p. 290.
5. ^ Lewis, Alexander; Currie, Elizabeth (2002). The Uncharted Realms of Tolkien: (a Critical Study of Text, Context, and Subtext in the Works of J. R. R. Tolkien). Medea. p. 169\. ISBN 978-095432070-6.
6. ^ Rateliff, John D. (2007). Return to Bag-End. The History of The Hobbit. Vol. 2\. HarperCollins. Appendix III. ISBN 978-0-00-725066-0.
7. ^ Burns, Marjorie (2005). Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien's Middle-earth. University of Toronto Press. pp. 95–101\. ISBN 0-8020-3806-9.
8. ^ Nelson, Charles W. (2002). "From Gollum to Gandalf: The Guide Figures in J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings"". Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. 13 (1): 47–61\. JSTOR 43308562.
9. ^ Lobdell, Jared (1975). A Tolkien Compass. Open Court Publishing Company. p. 33\. ISBN 0-87548-303-8.
10. ^ Petty, Anne C. (2013) [2007]. "Allegory". In Drout, Michael D. C. (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 6–7\. ISBN 978-0-415-86511-1.
11. ^ Maher, Michael W. (2003). "'A land without stain': medieval images of Mary and their use in the characterization of Galadriel". In Chance, Jane (ed.). Tolkien the Medievalist. Routledge. p. 225\. ISBN 978-0415289443.
12. ^ Kerry, Paul E. (2010). Kerry, Paul E. (ed.). The Ring and the Cross: Christianity and the Lord of the Rings. Fairleigh Dickinson. pp. 32–34\. ISBN 978-1-61147-065-9.
13. ^ Schultz, Forrest W. (1 December 2002). "Christian Typologies in The Lord of the Rings". Chalcedon. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
14. ^ Clark Hall, J. R. (2002) [1894]. A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (4th ed.). University of Toronto Press. p. 300.
15. ^ Birns, Nicholas (2007). "The Enigma of Radagast: Revision, Melodrama, and Depth". Mythlore. 26 (1): 113–126.
16. ^ a b Sibley, Brian (2012). The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Official Movie Guide. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 130–135\. ISBN 978-0-547-89930-5.
17. ^ Orr, Robert (1994). "Some Slavic Echos in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth". Germano-Slavica. 8: 23–34.
18. ^ Burns, Marjorie (2013) [2007]. "Doubles". In Drout, Michael (ed.). J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 127–128\. ISBN 978-0-415-96942-0.
19. ^ a b c d Nelson, Charles W. (2000). "The Sins of Middle-earth". In Clark, George; Timmons, Daniel (eds.). J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances: Views of Middle-earth. Greenwood Publishing. pp. 83–87\. ISBN 978-0-313-30845-1.
20. ^ Curry, Patrick (2004). Defending Middle-Earth: Tolkien: Myth and Modernity. HMH. p. 32\. ISBN 978-0-544-10656-7.
21. ^ Senior, William (1992). "Donaldson and Tolkien". Mythlore. 18 (4). article 6.
22. ^ a b Lee, Christopher (2003) [1977]. Lord of Misrule: The Autobiography of Christopher Lee. Orion Publishing Group. pp. 274, 337. ISBN 978-0-7528-5770-1.
23. ^ a b c Rosebury, Brian (2003). Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon. Palgrave. pp. 211, 216. ISBN 978-1403-91263-3.
24. ^ a b c Walter, Brian D. (2011). "The Grey Pilgrim". In Bogstad, Janice M.; Kaveny, Philip E. (eds.). Picturing Tolkien. McFarland. pp. 194–215\. ISBN 978-0-7864-8473-7.
25. ^ Thompson, Kristin (2011). "Gollum Talks to Himself". In Bogstad, Janice M.; Kaveny, Philip E. (eds.). Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy. McFarland. pp. 25–45\. ISBN 978-0-7864-8473-7.
26. ^ Dockterman, Eliana (14 October 2022). "There's a Deeper Meaning Behind Wizards in 'The Rings of Power'". Time. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
27. ^ Holub, Christian (6 August 2024). "'Rings of Power' cast teases season 2 of the 'Lord of the Rings' prequel series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
28. ^ Zemler, Emily (3 October 2024). "Who is the Stranger? 'The Rings of Power' Season 2 finale has a major reveal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
29. ^ Breznican, Anthony (3 October 2024). "The Rings of Power Season Two Finale Explained". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 3 October 2024.

### Sources

[edit]

* Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (2023) [1981]. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded Edition. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-35-865298-4.
* Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954a). The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 9552942.
* Tolkien, J. R. R. (1980). Christopher Tolkien (ed.). Unfinished Tales. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-29917-3.
* Tolkien, J. R. R. (1996). Christopher Tolkien (ed.). The Peoples of Middle-earth. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-82760-4.
* Tolkien, J. R. R. (2021). Carl F. Hostetter (ed.). The Nature of Middle-earth. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-838792-1.

* v
* t
* e

Middle-earth

* J. R. R. Tolkien
* Bibliography
* Canon
* Legendarium
* Outline

Works|

| In Tolkien's
lifetime|

* The Hobbit (1937)
* The Lord of the Rings (1954-55)
* The Fellowship of the Ring
* "The Shadow of the Past"
* "The Council of Elrond"
* The Two Towers
* The Return of the King
* "The Scouring of the Shire"
* "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen"
* The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962)

|

Posthumous|

* The Silmarillion (1977)
* "Ainulindalë"
* Unfinished Tales (1980)
* The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981)
* Bilbo's Last Song (1990)
* The three "Great Tales"
* The Children of Húrin (2007)
* Beren and Lúthien (2017)
* The Fall of Gondolin (2018)
* The Fall of Númenor (2022)

History of
composition|

| History of
Middle-earth|

* [1–2] The Book of Lost Tales (1983–84)
* Ælfwine
* [3] The Lays of Beleriand (1985)
* [4] The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986)
* [5] The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)
* The Etymologies
* Lhammas
* [6–9] The History of The Lord of the Rings (1988–92)
* The Notion Club Papers
* [10] Morgoth's Ring (1993)
* [11] The War of the Jewels (1994)
* [12] The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)

|

Others|

* John D. Rateliff
* The History of The Hobbit (2007)
* Carl F. Hostetter
* The Nature of Middle-earth (2021)

Fictional
universe|

| Peoples,
monsters|

* Ainur
* Maiar
* Balrogs
* Wizards
* Valar
* Dragons
* Ancalagon
* Smaug
* Dwarves
* Eagles
* Elves
* Half-elven
* Noldor
* Sundering
* Ents
* Hobbits
* Men
* Beornings
* Drúedain
* Dúnedain
* Orcs
* Trolls

|

Characters|

* First and Second Ages
* Celebrimbor
* Eärendil and Elwing
* Elendil
* Fëanor
* Fingolfin
* Finwë and Míriel
* Gil-galad
* Húrin
* Isildur
* Lúthien and Beren
* Melian
* Morgoth
* Thingol
* Tuor and Idril
* Túrin Turambar
* Ungoliant
* Third Age
* Elrond
* Galadriel
* Gandalf
* Glorfindel
* Goldberry
* Gollum
* Saruman
* Sauron
* Tom Bombadil

Places|

* First and Second Ages
* Beleriand
* Númenor
* Valinor
* Third Age
* Bree
* Esgaroth
* Gondor
* Harad
* Isengard
* Lonely Mountain
* Lothlórien
* Mirkwood
* Mordor
* Moria
* Rivendell
* Rohan
* The Shire
* Bag End

Objects|

* Mithril
* Palantír
* Red Book of Westmarch
* Rings of Power
* One Ring
* Silmarils
* Two Trees of Valinor
* List of weapons and armour

Analysis|

| Elements|

* Artwork
* Family trees
* Heraldry
* Languages
* Adûnaic
* Black Speech
* Elvish
* Quenya
* Sindarin
* Khuzdul
* Valarin
* Westron
* Maps
* Tolkien's poetry
* Scripts
* Cirth
* Sarati
* Tengwar

|

Themes|

* Anachronism
* Ancestry as guide to character
* Architecture
* Christianity
* Cosmology
* Round World dilemma
* Death and immortality
* Decline and fall
* Dreams and visions
* Economy
* England
* Environmentalism
* Evil
* First World War
* Forests
* Frame stories
* Hell
* Heroism
* Light
* Luck and fate
* Magic
* Mental illness
* Modernism
* Moral dilemma
* Music
* Naming of weapons
* Northern courage
* Old Straight Road
* Paganism
* Plants
* Psychological journeys
* Quests
* Sound and language
* Time
* Trees

Literary|

* Tolkien's impact on fantasy
* Influences
* Beowulf
* Celtic
* Classical world
* Finnish language and literature
* Medieval
* Modern
* William Morris
* Norse
* Philology
* Shakespeare
* Prose style
* Ambiguity
* A mythology for England

Geographic|

* The Atlas of Middle-earth
* Journeys of Frodo
* A Map of Middle-earth

Adaptations,
legacy|

| Artists|

* Pauline Baynes
* Cor Blok
* Anke Eißmann
* Brothers Hildebrandt
* Jenny Dolfen
* Mary Fairburn
* Donato Giancola
* John Howe
* Tove Jansson
* Alexander Korotich
* Alan Lee
* Tom Loback
* Margrethe II of Denmark
* Ted Nasmith

|

Composers|

* Bo Hansson
* Johan de Meij
* Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings
* Howard Shore
* Music of The Lord of the Rings film series
* Music of The Hobbit film series
* Music of The Rings of Power TV series
* Blind Guardian
* Nightfall in Middle-Earth

Settings|

* Donald Swann
* The Road Goes Ever On
* Poems and Songs of Middle Earth
* The Tolkien Ensemble
* An Evening in Rivendell
* A Night in Rivendell
* At Dawn in Rivendell
* Leaving Rivendell

Other media|

* Impact
* Middle-earth Enterprises
* Works inspired by Tolkien
* Fan fiction
* Film
* Calendars
* Video games
* Things named after Tolkien and his works

Literary
criticism|

* The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
* A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien
* Interrupted Music
* Master of Middle-Earth
* Picturing Tolkien
* A Question of Time
* J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century
* The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
* J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia
* The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion
* Perilous Realms
* The Road to Middle-Earth
* Splintered Light
* Tolkien and the Invention of Myth
* Tolkien's Art: 'A Mythology for England'
* Tolkien: A Look Behind The Lord of the Rings
* A Tolkien Compass
* Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth
* Tolkien, Race and Cultural History
* Tolkien's Legendarium
* Tolkien and the Great War
* The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien
* The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary

* v
* t
* e

The Hobbit

* J. R. R. Tolkien
* Hobbit (word)
* Legendarium
* frame stories
* Middle-earth
* artwork
* Beowulf
* maps
* naming of weapons
* psychological journeys
* runes

Editions|

* English-language editions
* The Annotated Hobbit
* Translations

Characters|

* Bilbo Baggins
* Wizards
* Gandalf
* Radagast
* Dwarves
* Thorin Oakenshield
* Balin
* Goblins
* Trolls
* Gollum
* Eagles
* Beorn
* Elves
* Elrond
* the Elvenking
* Smaug
* Bard the Bowman
* The Necromancer
* Wargs

Places|

* Eriador
* The Shire
* Rivendell
* Rhovanion
* Mirkwood
* Esgaroth
* Lonely Mountain

Related works|

* The History of The Hobbit
* Bilbo's Last Song
* There and Back Again (novel)
* The Hobbit pinball machine
* The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game
* "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins"

Adaptations|

| Radio|

* The Hobbit (1968)

|

Film|

* Gene Deitch's The Hobbit (1967)
* Rankin/Bass's The Hobbit (1977)
* Soviet The Hobbit (1985)
* Peter Jackson's series
* An Unexpected Journey (2012)
* The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
* The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
* original characters

Music|

* An Unexpected Journey (soundtrack) (2012)
* The Desolation of Smaug (soundtrack) (2013)
* The Battle of the Five Armies (soundtrack) (2014)

Video games|

* The Hobbit (1982)
* The Hobbit (2003)
* Lego The Hobbit (2014)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

The Lord of the Rings

* J. R. R. Tolkien
* Constructing The Lord of the Rings

About|

* Volumes
* The Fellowship of the Ring
* The Two Towers
* The Return of the King
* Stories
* "The Shadow of the Past"
* "The Council of Elrond"
* "The Scouring of the Shire"
* "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen"
* Translating
* list
* Swedish
* Reception
* Impact
* Literary
* Fandom
* Fan fiction
* Oxonmoot
* Tolkienmoot
* Works inspired
* Tolkien's impact on fantasy

Elements|

| Languages|

* Black Speech
* Elvish
* Quenya
* Sindarin
* Khuzdul
* Westron

|

Poetry|

* A Elbereth Gilthoniel
* Namárië
* Song of Eärendil
* The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late
* The Road Goes Ever On
* A Walking Song

Other|

* Artwork
* Family trees
* Heraldry
* Maps
* Proverbs
* Scripts
* Cirth
* Tengwar

Analysis|

| Themes|

* Addiction to power
* Ancestry as guide to character
* Architecture
* Company of the Ring
* Death and immortality
* Decline and fall
* Divination
* Dreams and visions
* Economy
* England
* Environmentalism
* Evil
* Feudal allegiance
* Forests
* Hell
* Heroism
* Luck and fate
* Magic
* Mental illness
* Moral dilemma
* Music
* Naming of weapons
* Northern courage
* Paganism
* Plants
* Prophecy
* Psychological journeys
* Quests
* Race
* Sexuality
* Sound and language
* Time
* Trees
* Women

|

Influences|

* Antiquarianism
* Beowulf
* Celtic
* Christianity
* Classical world
* Edwardian adventure stories
* First World War
* Norse
* Medieval
* Modern sources
* Modernism
* William Morris
* A mythology for England
* Philology
* Shakespeare

Techniques|

* Anachronism
* Character pairing
* Editorial framing
* Frame stories
* Pseudotranslation
* Impression of depth
* Narrative structure
* Interlacing
* Storytelling
* Prose style
* Ambiguity
* Epic Pooh

Peoples|

| Maiar|

* Balrogs
* Sauron
* Wizards
* Gandalf
* Radagast
* Saruman

|

Free
peoples|

* Dwarves
* Balin
* Gimli
* Elves
* Galadriel
* Glorfindel
* Half-elven
* Arwen
* Elrond
* Legolas
* Thranduil
* Ents
* Treebeard
* Hobbits
* Bilbo
* Frodo
* Merry
* Pippin
* Sam
* Men
* Beornings
* Drúedain
* Dúnedain
* Aragorn
* of Gondor
* Boromir
* Denethor
* Faramir
* of Rohan
* Éomer
* Éowyn
* Théoden
* Wormtongue

Monsters|

* Barrow-wight
* Gollum
* Nazgûl
* Witch-king of Angmar
* Old Man Willow
* Orcs
* Shelob
* Trolls
* Wargs
* Watcher in the Water

Other|

* Eagles
* Goldberry
* Tom Bombadil

World|

| Geography|

* Middle-earth
* Eriador
* Bree
* Old Forest
* Rivendell
* The Shire
* Bag End
* Gondor
* Harad
* Lothlórien
* Mirkwood
* Moria
* Mordor
* Rohan
* Isengard
* Undying Lands

|

Battles|

* Helm's Deep
* Pelennor Fields
* Morannon

Things|

* Mithril
* Oliphaunts
* Palantírs
* Phial of Galadriel
* Rings of Power
* One Ring
* List of weapons and armour

Related
works|

* The Hobbit
* The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
* Errantry
* Fastitocalon
* The Sea-Bell
* Donald Swann
* The Road Goes Ever On
* Bilbo's Last Song
* The Silmarillion
* Unfinished Tales
* The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien
* The History of Middle-earth
* The Children of Húrin
* The History of The Hobbit
* Beren and Lúthien
* The Fall of Gondolin
* The Nature of Middle-earth

Adaptations and derivative works

Books|

* Bored of the Rings (1969)
* The Last Ringbearer (1999)
* Muddle Earth (2003)

Illustrations|

* A Map of Middle-earth
* Pauline Baynes
* Barbara Remington
* John Howe
* Alan Lee
* Margrethe II of Denmark
* Ted Nasmith

Theatre|

* Fellowship! (2005)
* The Lord of the Rings (2006)

Music|

* Bo Hansson
* Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings (1972)
* Johan de Meij
* Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings (1988)
* Led Zeppelin
* "Ramble On" (1969)
* "Misty Mountain Hop" (1971)
* "The Battle of Evermore" (1971)

Radio|

* The Lord of the Rings (BBC, 1955)
* The Lord of the Rings (NPR, 1979)
* Hordes of the Things (1980)
* The Lord of the Rings (BBC, 1981)
* Der Herr der Ringe (1992)

Film|

| Animated|

* The Lord of the Rings (Bakshi, 1978)
* The Return of the King (Rankin/Bass, 1980)
* The War of the Rohirrim (Kamiyama, 2024)

|

Peter Jackson
series|

* The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
* The Two Towers (2002)
* The Return of the King (2003)

Music|

* "Concerning Hobbits"
* "Into the West"
* "May It Be"

Approach|

* Production
* Hobbiton Movie Set
* Peter Jackson's interpretation
* Picturing Tolkien
* Tolkien on Film

Other|

* Sagan om ringen (1971)
* Khraniteli (1991)
* Hobitit (1993)
* The Rings of Power (2022)
* music

Fan-made|

* The Hunt for Gollum (2009)
* Born of Hope (2009)

Video games|

* Journey to Rivendell
* Game One
* Game Two: Shadows of Mordor
* War in Middle Earth
* Vol. I (1990)
* Vol. I (SNES)
* Riders of Rohan
* Elendor
* Vol. II: The Two Towers
* The Fellowship of the Ring
* The Two Towers
* The Return of the King
* War of the Ring
* The Third Age
* Game Boy Advance
* The Battle for Middle-earth
* Tactics
* The Battle for Middle-earth II
* The Rise of the Witch-king
* Conquest
* Aragorn's Quest
* War in the North
* Lego The Lord of the Rings
* Guardians of Middle-earth
* Shadow of Mordor
* Shadow of War
* Gollum
* Return to Moria

| The Lord of the Rings Online|

* Mines of Moria
* Siege of Mirkwood
* Rise of Isengard
* Riders of Rohan
* Helm's Deep
* Mordor
* Minas Morgul
* War of Three Peaks
* Fate of Gundabad
* Before the Shadow

|

Tabletop role-
playing games|

* Middle-earth Role Playing
* The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game
* The One Ring Roleplaying Game
* Adventures in Middle-earth

Board games|

* Middle Earth
* War of the Ring
* Gondor: The Siege of Minas Tirith
* Sauron
* Lord of the Rings
* War of the Ring

Card games|

* Middle-earth Collectible Card Game
* The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game
* The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game

Other games|

* Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game
* Lego The Lord of the Rings

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